Since 2012, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has been supporting electoral stakeholders in Myanmar to build a transparent, credible and inclusive electoral system. IFES began work in Myanmar during the April 2012 by-elections through a voter education program with civil society partners that targeted the inclusion of women in the electoral process. In early 2013, IFES began to scale up operations in Myanmar by providing workshops and electoral assessments to the Union Election Commission (UEC).

IFES’ assistance to the UEC expanded further in mid-2013 with the opening of an IFES office in the UEC and the establishment of the UEC Training Center. The Training Center has provided a forum for IFES to hold trainings for UEC staff members from national and sub-national offices and stakeholder meetings that have brought together members of civil society organizations with the UEC to address issues of transparency, accountability and inclusion in the electoral process through constructive and sector strengthening collaborations.